I have been enamored with the idea of playing the SWRPG for months now. However, I have never played any TTRPG. After mentioning my interest in the system to one of the owners of my FLGS, he offered to give me a beginner box if I would run the beginner box in the store. So, I have agreed to GM the Force & Destiny Beginner Game at my FLGS on Sat, Dec. 9.

I am not coming from complete ignorance. As I said, I’ve been enamored with the game for months. I’ve been listening to the Order 66 podcast and am now through Ep. 37. I’ve also listened to the Dice for Brains podcast, and I’ve been stalking the reddit sub and this forum too. However, reading about how to hit a golf ball is not the same as hitting a golf ball.

My plan is to run through the beginner game with my wife and brother before I run it in the store. But they’ve never played TTRPGs before, either.

What advice can you give me to make this a fun experience? What preparation or planning should I do? How long should I plan for it to take to play through the beginner game?

I also posted this on reddit.

Best advice for a new GM is to focus on being flexible and having fun. So long as everyone enjoys the game, you have done the job well.

That aside, learn how the dice work, as that is the largest hurdle for a newer player (or GM). Roll them a number of times and try to come up with something fun that would match the roll. How would you handle success with disadvantage? Failure with advantage? Despair? All of these come up, and can spin any encounter in a new and fun direction. The dice are a source of endless fun with this system, and the greater your familiarity with them, the more comfortable you will feel in play.

Final bit of advice: when looking at the module, focus on the NPCs, not where the story intends you to take your players. Try to know the characters you will portray, and what they want out of given situation. This helps when (not if) the players throw something at you that you would have never expected. Don't panic if the game goes off the rails - play the NPCs the way you see them and refer back to the first bit of advice.

Have fun!

Well, I've never ran a beginner box (or any FFG pre-made adventure), and I've never listened to an actual-play for this system, so I probably don't know your frame of reference very well, but I would just give you some general GMing advice:

Always be mindful of how this system is designed to create a "cinematic" experience. The PCs are the "stars of the show", right? So, be their fan as you guide the experience. They should be accomplishing awesome and epic things. You're not here as a GM to defeat them. You're here to collaborate with them on creating a fun and dramatic story-experience.

Which doesn't mean, "Always let them win", it just means focus on complicating situations and creating drama.

There's the classic "Say, Yes, or roll the dice.", not everything needs to have a dice roll. If the PC asks you something, and it doesn't have a large effect on the situation - and especially if it opens up a door for creating drama/conflict, just say "Yes". Yes, there's a chandelier. Yes, there's some shady-looking folks over there. Yes, your character would know that. Yes, your character can jump that. So on...

If your instinct is to say, no, then you should instead say, "Well, let's see." and have them put together a dice pool to make it happen.

Dont get too caught up in the details. One roll rarely equals one action (one roll =/= one shot of a blaster, nor one swing of an axe, nor one burst of movement, nor one exchange of words, etc.). The system paints with broad strokes so don't get caught up in one roll only accomplishing one thing, or in having them make iterative rolls. Also, don't worry too much about "getting it right", if you're wondering about how a given situation should be handled, instead of stopping play and diving into the book, just wing the roll. It's a very easy system to improv with. If you wonder "Oh jeez I'm not sure how the rules handle this." ask the player, "Well, how are you gonna do that? Tell me the skill you're gonna use and how that works?" And based off that you assign a difficulty (or pick an opposing Skill), and have the PC roll for it.

Good luck! Have fun.

If you have time on your hands, find a podcast focused on the game and take a listen. for Rules and Crunch, I like the Order 66 Podcast. For story-centric Actual Play, I suggest Dice for Brains , and for a more general star wars RPG idea machine, you could check out Tales From the Hydian Way .

19 hours ago, HoosierHound said:

What advice can you give me to make this a fun experience? What preparation or planning should I do? How long should I plan for it to take to play through the beginner game?

For your first time through, first, read through the adventure a couple of times so you know who the key NPCs are and how the plot is expected to work. Second, don't be afraid to just follow the script.* You definitely want to allow some leeway for players to be inventive, but if the players have some crazy ideas (...and they will...), don't discourage them, but don't be afraid to bring them back on track while you learn the rules.

The game that's in the box might take an evening (2-4 hours depending on how the encounters are resolved). The PDF you can download extends this by at least a couple of evening's-worth of play.

---------------

*I can already hear the howls of protest Normally this is called "railroading", which is something you want to avoid. But your key goal for your first evening should be a) have fun; and b) learn the rules so you can feel more comfortable going off the rails in future games.

19 hours ago, HoosierHound said:

What advice can you give me to make this a fun experience? What preparation or planning should I do? How long should I plan for it to take to play through the beginner game?

I also posted this on reddit.

Expect the unexpected. Seriously, tabletop gamers are infamous for taking a left, when everything in the story says take a right. They will also likely burn the path to the right by setting a local civilian on fire, strapping explosives to him, and then shoving him down the right path as a distraction, while they steal everything before heading down the left path. It's just how they think

But seriously, don't try and preplan much, but be prepared for unforeseen events. Have some npc groups of minions of various types ready for when you might have to toss in an extra combat encounter, because your players started a bar brawl, instead of just talking to the bouncer outside for information.

Think of alternate ways they can accomplish things, especially ways that incorporate their skills. If you have a mechanics/computer focused character, think ahead on how/where they could utilize those abilities in a situation. Also, take into consideration the environment when you are setting up the screen. If you describe they are on a busy city street, with speeder cars moving back and forth, be prepared for one of them to think of carjacking a speeder to accomplish their goal. If they're near some construction equipment, be prepared for one of them to decide to try and hotwire the cargo lift to make a hole for the party, etc.

Think of how someone might resolve the challenge you put in front of them, in ways other than the most obvious way you set up . Because they will likely go that route.

Be comfortable with adding/removing dice based on variable factors in the moment. It's raining? Add a setback die. The party made preparations before coming to this place? Give them a boost. One of the players belts out an awesome speech to try and intimidate the npcs to run away, and gets really into character, give them a boost. Stuff like that.

Thanks for the really great responses everyone, they are very helpful.

I've now been able to swing by the FLGS and pick up the beginner game, and I've spent the evening playing with the dice and reading through the adventure. I'm feeling pretty confident now, as it does not seem too complicated at all.

However, I'm not sure how to use the maps during gameplay. They look great and obviously would help with the immersion. But how do you deal with the spoiler aspects of them? Especially the bridge map, where the alternative methods of getting across or around the bridge are clearly displayed.

Matt Mercer is a pretty popular "celebrity" DM and he has some YouTube clips on some do's and don't, which you may find interesting. There is a tonne of great ideals and starting tips for new and experienced GMs.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7atuZxmT9570U87GhK_20NcbxM43vkom

The only key piece of advice I can offer myself is: Learn the players, and what they respond to most positively, and try to do more of that. If they like fighting, give them more battles. if they like being sneaky, give them more undercover or spy activities to do, etc. The rules are there to facilitate the experience, not to stifle or control it. I've ran games where we barely rolled anything and yet it was still exciting.

However, given you're running through the beginner game, here are some things to consider:

*Read the handbook and make sure you're familiar with the scenario and the options. That'll keep you from having to reference it all the time, which can break the immersion.

*Get used to thinking on your feet. Players will ALWAYS surprise you with their ingenuity.

*Meet with the group and make characters together to avoid double-ups. Talk about back stories and player objectives.

*Set some ground rules e.g. any disputes will be ruled by the GM. After the game you can discuss any suggestions/changes the players/GM would want to see more/less.

*Remember to always choose Fun over Fact. Allows players to do cool stuff if it works for the story, game, characters. But also don't be afraid to surprise them by with twists from your NPCs and villains.

*Regarding maps/minis vs theatre of the mind. I tend to use theatre more. But don't be afraid to draw up basic maps on a sketchpad if you need. Getting bogged into detailed maps can make your life harder as players may start to "meta-game" and beat the scenario instead of playing to their character.

That should set you off on a great start to amazingly characters and explosive adventures in the Star Wars universe.

MS

1 hour ago, HoosierHound said:

However, I'm not sure how to use the maps during gameplay

Personally I almost never use maps, maybe a whiteboard if I need to keep track of relative positioning. You're right that visual aids help with the immersion, but if you use the box contents, you'll just have to fold under or cover up areas you don't want revealed. Usually when making my own adventures I google suitable images and show them on an iPad, keeps the table clutter down.

8 hours ago, HoosierHound said:

However, I'm not sure how to use the maps during gameplay. They look great and obviously would help with the immersion. But how do you deal with the spoiler aspects of them? Especially the bridge map, where the alternative methods of getting across or around the bridge are clearly displayed.

Well, if the alternate routes would be visible to the people standing near the bridge, then I don't think it's "spoilers" for them to see the options they have for crossing it. I don't have the box set in question, so I don't know the map you mean specifically, but if it's something they would be able to clearly see in real life if they were standing there, I'm not sure it should be hidden from them. The fact that they see it doesn't mean they will consider it an option. Sometimes gamers can have blinders on about things.

But like whafrog, I don't use maps, and just describe it verbally. I'll pull up images from online to show the basic setting, usually something from deviant art or star wars art sites. Mostly just to give a mood.

If this should be spoiler tagged, please let me know how to do it, I can't figure it out.

On the bridge encounter in question, the PCs are instructed that there is a bridge over a chasm with a waterfall that they need to cross, and the bridge has armed guards on both sides. On the map of the bridge area there is clearly a cave tunnel through the cliff face, providing an option to cross the chasm without using the bridge. But the existence of the cave tunnel is not told to the players, and in fact, the GM directions instruct that they need to pass an average perception check to discover the hidden cave entrance.

So do I just place the map out where they can see the cave in meta, but then require them to pass the perception check for the characters to find it and be able to go that route? Or does that take something away from the fun of figuring out how to get across the bridge and chasm? The books states various ways or methods that they might get across, but when I look at the map, the cave just seems so obvious.

What would you do as the GM? What would you want if you were the player?

Your question, slightly reworded: Does the need to avoid "metagaming" the existence of the cave outweigh the visual stimulation/satisfaction provided to the players by using a map that will show them (but not their PCs!) where the cave is?

In my experience: go with the visual aid. Players like maps, they like visuals, they like to play with toys. Don't sweat the metagaming. Lots of the RPG experience at the table involves metagaming to some degree (and there are plenty of articles on the web discussing this very topic), i.e. it cannot be avoided 100% of the time, it's part of all RPGs. This will be your first time running for people you don't necessarily know in a FLGS environment. Make it easy on yourself. Make it fun for your players. Put the map down on the table. They will respond to this; "OOoooooh look, a map! Cool!", or something similar. Especially if they are new players. It's a toy to play with and helps spark their imagination.

If they ask about the cave in the bridge encounter, or indicate that they will interact with it, flat-out tell them "yes, it's on the map but someone would need to pass a perception check to discover it". If they fail, inform them they must pretend the cave is not on the map unless you tell them otherwise (situation might change later on in the encounter). This won't be a stretch for them to do because they are already pretending to be someone else anyway. That's harder than pretending the cave isn't there.

More generally: Just relax and have fun. Don't over-think it and don't over-prep. You cannot plan for all of the permutations of things that could happen during the session. If you and the players are having fun, you're doing it right. There is alot of good advice so far in this thread, but you are a new GM so I imagine it can be alot to try and take in. YOU WILL FORGET MOST OF THIS ADVICE AS SOON AS THE GAME STARTS! (hello nerves) GM'inig is a muscle you develop over time. No amount of forum reading equates to just sitting down in front of your players and going for it. It's like any other task. People can describe it to you, can tell you how it's done, but until you go through the experience 1st person it won't mean near as much.

My more specific advice would be this: when the session is over make a list of things you think you did well and things you want to improve. Give yourself a little retrospective critique. Don't try to fix everything at once the next time you GM. Pick something and focus on improving whatever it is the next time. Over time you'll work out the kinks!

I generally try to avoid making the players pretend not to know things, it's usually simpler that way. It's hard enough to get them to remember what their PCs do know, never mind what they don't. It's one of the reasons I don't always present a map. But this case is simple enough, I'd just do what cdj0902 suggests. It would be a shame to waste the eye-candy...

You can also describe the cave in a way that makes it less appealing...slippery rocks that require Athletics or Coordination to make progress, loose rocks that make for difficult terrain, etc.

8 hours ago, cdj0902 said:

If they ask about the cave in the bridge encounter, or indicate that they will interact with it, flat-out tell them "yes, it's on the map but someone would need to pass a perception check to discover it". If they fail, inform them they must pretend the cave is not on the map unless you tell them otherwise (situation might change later on in the encounter). This won't be a stretch for them to do because they are already pretending to be someone else anyway. That's harder than pretending the cave isn't there.

Thanks cdj0902! This is great advice and I'm going to use it. Layout the map and so they will know of the existence of the cave, but the entrance to the cave will still be hidden and require a check to find. Like the secret door into the Lonely Mountain.

3 hours ago, HoosierHound said:

Thanks cdj0902! This is great advice and I'm going to use it. Layout the map and so they will know of the existence of the cave, but the entrance to the cave will still be hidden and require a check to find. Like the secret door into the Lonely Mountain.

That's a perfect solution to the issue. You're basically saying "don't take the map literally". The entrance isn't necessarily where it's drawn on the map. The map is just a general visual aid, it isn't Google Earth.

You're gonna do great! Just remember to have fun hehe.

23 hours ago, cdj0902 said:

That's a perfect solution to the issue. You're basically saying "don't take the map literally". The entrance isn't necessarily where it's drawn on the map. The map is just a general visual aid, it isn't Google Earth.

You're gonna do great! Just remember to have fun hehe.

I try to operate on a realism scale for things like line of sight and visual markers. If there isn't a reason to assume the thing is blocked (like it's clearly in a straight line of sight from where they are, no obstructions), then I'm not really going to bother for a roll or anything. The human eye is able to take in a lot of information very quickly, and fairly obvious things should be exactly that.

9 hours ago, KungFuFerret said:

I try to operate on a realism scale for things like line of sight and visual markers. If there isn't a reason to assume the thing is blocked (like it's clearly in a straight line of sight from where they are, no obstructions), then I'm not really going to bother for a roll or anything. The human eye is able to take in a lot of information very quickly, and fairly obvious things should be exactly that.

My short response: You do you. Or rather, do what works for your table. This is good advice for HoosierHound too. Experiment and find what works for you. We, as floating heads on a forum, can't help him with that. That comes with XP, and all mileage will vary.

The long version: Everyone has preferences. There is no wrong way to do this, it's all up to what RP value system the GM and players at a particular table have. A new GM and/or player won't know what their preference is. I tend to reuse and/or purchase maps online because I'm not a graphical artist, so when I find a map I really like, but has features I don't care about or don't fit the encounter, I tell my players to ignore them. If it shows where secret doors or cave entrances are I tell them "maps aren't always trustworthy". It's a map, a prop, not Google Maps. The scene is painted in the table narrative. I've had zero issues with this method in all my years gaming and it gives them pretty things to look at that I couldn't produce myself. Given the choice between having something spatial to look at and pure Theater of the Mind my players have always chosen the map if for nothing else but ease of determining relative positioning. The social contract has always been that the map isn't to be taken literally. If it caused confusion at my table I definitely wouldn't do it.

New players especially tend to struggle with pure TotM, so if there is a map available and it"gives away some secrets" to the players that their PCs wouldn't know, my advice to a new DM is still what I state previously: don't sweat the meta. The pay-off in "table bling" and assistance it gives the players in imagining the scene outweighs the negative aspects of the metadata. Especially in this one very specific instance where it is easily hand-waved. HoosierHound's solution is completely viable.

I'm looking forward to hearing how the session goes.

Saturday night we ran through the F&D Beginner Game adventure. I was the GM for my wife, brother, and one friend. It was about 3 hours to play and we all had fun. I played the Star Wars theme music while I read the opening scrawl to them to start us off.

The best piece of advice was to ask the players to narrate their dice results. This was my wife's favorite part, and we all riffed off each other's narrations as the game went along. One of the best was early when one PC passed a resilience check against howling cold winds, and described how he powered through as though there was no wind at all. Another PC then pointed out that the monk robes he was wearing basically meant he was shirtless, and so he replied that it is his tattoos that keep him warm. We continued to bring up his shiftlessness and the powers of his tattoos the rest of the game.

There were a few points when the adventure plot caused some confusion. For instance, the dialogue provided for the holocron projection is fairly confrontational, when the encounter is meant to get the PCs to ask questions and use social skills. Instead they were skeptical of him, and unsure of what to do. I'm going to take a different approach to this when I run the game in the store and see how it goes then.

When we came to the bridge scene with the map that I asked about earlier, I laid the map out before them so they could see everything. They then debated about whether they should use the cave (where they assumed something would ambush them) or fight their way across the bridge (where at least they could do the ambushing). It was interesting to see them hesitate about using the cave, whereas beforehand I had worried it was too obvious to go that route since I knew nothing was going to ambush them.

The biggest challenge I was unprepared for as the GM was looking up NPC stats during combat. It takes some practice to read those NPC info boxes and know what you need, and there were times I really slowed the game down trying to figure them out.

In the end we all had a good time. My wife, who was skeptical of the idea and only agreed to play because of my enthusiasm, said she had a lot more fun than she expected to. I'm excited to run it again in the store, and to see where we go from here.

11 hours ago, HoosierHound said:

It was interesting to see them hesitate about using the cave, whereas beforehand I had worried it was too obvious to go that route since I knew nothing was going to ambush them.

This is classic player behaviour: the innocuous looks ominous, and the ominous is ignored... the only way around that is just making sure that whichever decision they make they are still challenged.

Sounds like you did a good job, well done!

17 hours ago, HoosierHound said:

The biggest challenge I was unprepared for as the GM was looking up NPC stats during combat. It takes some practice to read those NPC info boxes and know what you need, and there were times I really slowed the game down trying to figure them out.

If you are planning on doing this regularly, I'd suggest purchasing the Adversary cards they published. They are super useful. Basic stat block for random NPCs, basic gear and skills, all on one card. You can have a handful of them set to the side for those oddball choices your players make, where you suddenly have to whip up a minion squad, and just grab the card for reference. You can even reskin them (street thug minion squad is basically the same as jungle savage minion squad for all basic purposes, just change blasters for spears and done), and use the same card for multiple encounters.

But yeah, as for reading the stat blocks and understanding them, that will get easier with time. The information is really simple, on purpose, so the GM can "wing it" with minimal effort and minimal prep-time.

Another option, if you use a laptop, is to install "Oggdude's Character Generator". The "GM Tools" section of that app has the full list of all adversaries in all the books, with stats. It's useful for building and saving encounters. You can also save off the stat blocks as JPG files for reference outside of the app.